Android devices come from all walks of life but rarely do they carry as much baggage as the MILESTONE. Motorola seem to be betting the farm with the MILESTONE and the warm reception it’s getting must leave them breathing a sigh of relief. Catching the Android wave may’ve seemed like the last available move but a device like the MILESTONE makes turning the tide much more likely.

Motorola MILESTONE official photos

So, Motorola are back with a bang and the MILESTONE is one of the best spec’d phones to ever run Android. The Google Nexus One is supposed to instill fear in nearly every touchscreen device out there but the Moto Droid must be positioned well enough by now to withstand the attack.

Main disadvantages

No DivX and XviD video playback

No smart and voice dialing

Somewhat clumsy camera interface and limited camera features

No free GPS navigation solution

No Flash support for the web browser

No FM radio

There’s hardly anything missing on the Motorola MILESTONE spec sheet so we should be ready for an exciting ride. The test-drive got us impressed: at the end of our preview we felt positive about the MILESTONE prospects. So now, the Moto DROID has a full review ahead to build on that good impression.

Considering the rate of its sales, the handset is doing well from a user point of view too. Yet, a short-lived success is just not good enough for Motorola: the company doesn’t have the resources to come up with an equally talented successor as quick as some of the competitors. So, the MILESTONE needs to stick around the top of the sales charts for at least a few months to give Motorola some breathing space.

Motorola MILESTONE views

The Motorola DEXT by the way did reasonably well in scouting out the territory but it now falls upon the MILESTONE to carry the offensive through. Proper backup is still to come so it will have to fight all by itself.

We’ll follow in its footsteps and – as the tradition goes – we continue with the hardware and ergonomics right after the jump.